Like many of our wines, the Skin Fermented Chardonnay started as an experiment. When 809 clone grapes weren’t cooperating with the others in the winemaking process, we isolated them and tried something slightly different. Fermented on the skins for 101 days in concrete, this traditional (and resurgent) winemaking process adds the necessary color, texture and structure to create a delicate balance against the clone’s pronounced floral, tropical fruity notes. The result is an expressive golden-hued wine, in a shorter 500 ml bottle, that has earned its place as a staple, annual Scribe release.
This is a fresh interpretation of classic California winemaking--farmed here on the estate in rich Huichica loam, composed over time by volcanic, rhyolitic ash from the nearby Mayacamas range. After a series of trials and experiments in our early years, we eventually decided to age all of our Chardonnay in Sonoma-made concrete tanks, allowed to rest on its heavy lees as long as possible without any oak barrel contact. It all adds up to a powerful, mineral white wine, full of earth tones that expresses our distinctive geological history.
This vineyard is on a West-facing slope, above the fog line, on the Northern ridge of the Atlas Peak AVA. The Hambright and Guenoc soils, are dominated by red volcanic material with lots of flatrock, providing exceptional drainage to the hillside vineyard.